I have been sitting on this mother tag for what must be at least a decade. Some bloggers have written on the joys of motherhood and some on the challenges it poses. I’m right now in a rather charitable mood so I’ll write about umm… err… the ‘benefits’ of being a mother:

Free child labour: With a duster in hand my daughter makes the furniture and windows glisten. The son can spend a solid half hour in the attic, profusely seating and unearthing various things for me. Plus there are the endless errands to get 100 gm green chilli, ‘one more’ cucumber, and so forth. No payment. Ignore the grumbles.

Captive fan club: You may dish out the most insipid sambar and uninspiring carrot curry but these, by default, are your kids’ comfort food. Did you grind your teeth when your husband remarked that his mother made the most wonderful curd rice? Take heart – history will repeat itself in about 20 years. Have you ever heard an adult, especially male and married, complain about his mother’s cooking?

Knowledge recycling: You may have often regretted spending a good part of your youth learning stuff that you never use. When your kids study, all that you learned will come rushing in, and you can point out in a superior voice that “Mass is measured in a beam balance while Weight is measured in a spring balance.” Why, even your saralivarisai and jandavarisai gnan is occasionally deployed.

Language enrichment: Your kids add several dimensions to previously tame words. You understand that paruppu and vennai are not necessarily edible items. Or that “ingappaarraa” is not a gentle invitation to view something.

Smart messengers: With some rigorous training from you, your kids will ask their grandfather to turn down the TV volume or remind their dad that your birthday is around the corner. The emphasis is on ‘training’. Else, the tutored lines will be prefixed or suffixed with “Amma said so”.